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Texas Holdem Hands

Friday, March 11th, 2011 by Phil

When poker players discuss Texas holdem hands, they focus on their pocket cards. Which cards you play are up to you.

The cards don’t determine whether or not you win. How you PLAY your cards does. 78suited can be a winning hand if played right, and pocket kings can be a losing hand if played wrong.

Losing Texas holdem hands can mean one of two things:

1. You were unlucky.
2. You made a mistake.

Everyone has bad luck. But avoiding mistakes is what separates winners from losers.

Some Texas holdem hand strategies work better than others. Some of what you consider when deciding which Texas holdem hands to play and how include:

• Position
• Stack Sizes
• Opponents’ Playing Tendencies
• Your Table Image

Position: How Position Affects the Value of Different Texas Holdem Hands

Position is the most important factor in Texas holdem poker. Being in position means acting AFTER your opponent. Being out of position means acting BEFORE your opponent. When you play in position, you have more information about your opponent, and you can adjust your play accordingly. But when you play out of position, not only do you lack information, but your opponent gains information.

Discount any Texas holdem starting hand when you’re out of position. KJ isn’t playable in early position, but if you’re playing from late position, it might be worth a preflop raise.

Stack Sizes: How Stack Sizes Affect Texas Holdem Hand Choices

Disregarding stack sizes is a common Texas holdem mistake. Small pocket pairs are a good example of when stack sizes matter. Calling a modest raise and hoping to hit a set is profitable if you and your opponent both have large stacks, but if you both have small stacks, you won’t get paid off when you hit.

Opponents’ Playing Tendencies: Considering Your Opponents when Evaluating Texas Holdem Hands

Observing your opponents’ playing tendencies takes some time at the table, but it’s essential to take the time to figure out how your opponents play. If your opponent is weak-tight, you should bet and raise against him more often. If your opponent is loose and passive, you should value bet more often. If your opponent makes no sense, then don’t get out of line.

Texas holdem players tend to fall into one of four categories:

1. Tight aggressive
2. Tight passive
3. Loose aggressive
4. Loose passive

Tight aggression is the best approach to Texas holdem hands. That means you play few hands, but when you do play them, you bet and raise with them, rather than checking and calling. Loose aggression is when you bet and raise with a lot of different hands.

Aggressive Texas holdem is winning Texas holdem. Some players can win with a loose aggressive approach, but that requires more skill than winning with a tight aggressive style.

Passive Texas holdem players lose money regardless of how well they practice hand selection. Weak poker is losing poker.

Bluffing loose players is a losing play. Bluffing tight players is a winning play. Understanding your opponent’s style is a prerequisite to decdiding.

Table Image: Table Image and Texas Holdem Hands

How other Texas holdem players see you is your table image. You can use your table image to your advantage. If the other players think you’re tight, then you can execute some bluffs. If the other players think you are loose, you can value bet your strong hands and get calls.

Table image matters less in lower stakes games, and it matters more in higher stakes games. Low stakes Texas holdem players often ignore what’s going on at the table. (They’re playing their cards, not the other players.)

Table image can matter a lot when you have a run of luck, too. If you raise ten hands out of twenty because you’re running hot, the other players at the table might decide that your loose. You can value bet with your stronger hands and get calls when your opponents have weak hands.

Image is everything in poker.

Pre Flop Texas Holdem Hands

Texas holdem starting hands fall into categories:

• Junk
• Suited Connectors
• Connectors
• Face Cards
• Small Pocket Pairs
• Big Pocket Pairs

Junk Texas Holdem Hands

Most preflop Texas holdem hands are junk. They offer no reason to play, and they offer almost no possibility of winning a showdown. J3, 47, and K2 are all examples of junk hands.

Even a preflop steal attempt is risky with a junk hand. Don’t play hands where your failure rate is going to be high. And NEVER get involved in big pot with junk.

Suited Connectors

Suited connectors can make a straight or a flush. If you hold the 8 and the 9 of spades, then you have a suited connector. The higher the ranking, the more value a suited connector has. 23 suited isn’t even really a playable hand, and the jack ten of spades has more value than the 89.

Suited connectors should be played when you’re in position. Fold them when you’re out of position.

The flop should hit at least some of your hand if you’re going to continue with suited connectors. This can mean you hit a flush, a straight, or a pair. Or it could mean you hit a really strong draw. But if the flop completely misses you, then folding suited connectors is the right move.

Your goal with suited connectors is to make a small investment preflop, and then get paid off when you hit your hand on the flop. It’s easy to get away from the suited connectors if you don’t have a lot invested in the pot, too.

When you have suited connectors, you want multiple players to come along for the ride. So calling instead of raising is correct preflop here. With multiple players in the pot, you’re more likely to win more money when your hand hits.

Connectors

Connectors are little better than junk. Connecting hands that aren’t suited are weak, but they can sometimes be good blind stealing hands. Your goal is for your opponents to fold their blinds, but if they DO call, you still have a dog in the hunt.

Don’t call bets preflop with connectors. Without the potential flush value of the suited cards, you’ve got slim odds of winning anything.

To a novice, JQ looks like a strong hand, even if it’s not suited. But to an experienced Texas holdem player, it’s an easy fold.

The problem with these kinds of hands is that they often hit, but even when they do hit, they’re often not the best hand in place. For example, if you hit a pair of queens on the flop with your JQ, you THINK you have a strong hand. But your kicker (the Jack) sucks.

Don’t overestimate the value of face cards. Don’t play them in the face of a raise. Be ready to fold.

Small Pocket Pairs

Most of the value in small pocket pairs comes from the occasional set. But even when you hit your set, someone else might have a higher set, a flush, or a straight. Small pocket pairs, like face cards that are connected but not suited, look a lot stronger than they are, especially to novices.

Don’t overvalue small pocket pairs. You can lose a lot of small bets chasing trips. You need to be able to win a big pot to make up for those lost small bets. Compare your potential winnings with the odds of hitting your hand, and decide whether or not to play when the potential winnings warrant it.

Big Pocket Pairs

Pairs of aces, kings, queens, and jacks are big pocket pairs, but they’re not a lock to win a pot. Good players raise with these hands preflop, but they know when to let them go on the flop. Don’t fall in love with your pocket pairs.

If you have AA preflop, but the flop comes 789 all of one suit, then you’ve probably already lost the hand. (Unless one of your aces is of the same suit as the flop, in which case you have a draw to a really strong flush.)

Pocket aces often win small pots easily. They also often lose big pots.